A Chemical in Crime Scenes Could be Used to Cure Malaria

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Recently, a new discovery has been found. The chemical compound known as, Luminol, is used in crime scenes that could actually be used to cure malaria. This substance is said to emit a large dose of antimalarial drug when combined with other specific substances, which is able to kill the parasite infecting blood cells.

Luminol is a chemical compound that interacts with an oxygen carrying protein known as hemoglobin. When a crime that involves blood occurs,most convicts try to clean up the blood. After all the blood is cleaned up, it’s nearly impossible to see with the naked eye. However, there are still traces of blood left and they can stay there for years unnoticed, but by pouring Luminol where the crime scene happened it causes the blood to react with the chemical and glows blue. The investigators then can follow the trail of blood as a lead on how the crime unfolded.

Lab studies found that Luminol combined with an amino acid and the common malaria treatment would cause a series of events that killed malaria in red blood cells. The way this works is that malaria enters a cell by cutting a slit or an opening to enter the cell. Researchers then added an amino acid that enters the opening that the parasite had made. This acid created a molecular build up in the opening of the cell, this process is known as protoporphyrin IX. Protoporphyrin emits a compound that is toxic to malaria when light is applied to it. That’s when Luminol comes in, when researchers added Luminol onto protoporphyrin IX it combines with the blood and created a blue light. This blue light triggers the protoporphyrin to emit its malaria killing toxins. The compound then cures the malaria in the cell with no damage.

If this treatment is able to prove to be a successful and efficient cure, it could change millions of people’s lives. Malaria is a very serious problem, in 2015, 212 million people were affected with malaria with around 42,900 deaths. Now it is said that half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. Not to mention control and prevention campaigns have only stopped malaria infection by 30%. Malaria can enter a person unnoticed There are also cases of people catching malaria and going to a hospital to find out that the hospital can’t help malaria infected people.

This new discovery is quite interesting and could create a global change and save millions of lives. By reviewing what this new discovery is, how it works, and how it can affect the world it creates a better understanding of medical knowledge.